pronoun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
absolutely nothing
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Jim knew absolutely nothing about the business when he joined the firm.
anything/nothing untoward
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I walked past but didn’t notice anything untoward.
anything/nothing/something particular
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I had nothing particular planned.
anything/something/nothing special
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Are you doing anything special for Christmas?
apropos of nothing (= not relating to anything previously mentioned )
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Apropos of nothing, he suddenly asked me if I liked cats!
be worth nothing/not be worth anything
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It’s a very old machine so I shouldn’t think it’s worth anything.
betrayed nothing (= showed no emotion )
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His face betrayed nothing .
came to nothing
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All those years of studying, and in the end it all came to nothing .
count for nothing
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His overseas results count for nothing .
do nothing for sb (= used to say that particular clothes, colours etc do not suit someone )
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I liked the dress but it did nothing for me.
do nothing for sth (= not have a good effect on something )
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Being apart for so long did nothing for our relationship.
do something/nothing/anything
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He lay on the sofa and did nothing all day.
had nothing on
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Jimmy had nothing on but his socks.
had nothing to offer
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He felt he had nothing to offer her that she wanted.
have nothing against (= have no reason to dislike them )
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I have nothing against foreigners .
have nothing better to do
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Have you got nothing better to do than sit there playing that silly game?
have nothing but admiration for sb (= have a lot of admiration for someone )
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I have nothing but admiration for his work.
have nothing but praise for sb/sth (= praise them a lot, especially when they have had to deal with a difficult situation )
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Passengers had nothing but praise for the pilot.
have nothing to lose but your pride/reputation etc
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The working class has nothing to lose but its chains. disadvantages, restrictions etc .
have something/anything/nothing to say
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He usually has something to say about just about everything.
have something/nothing to eat (= eat something/nothing )
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We’ll leave after we’ve had something to eat.
have/feel/show etc nothing but contempt
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The public should have nothing but contempt for bad journalism.
knew nothing of
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She knew nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
like/love/enjoy nothing better (than)
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She likes nothing better than a nice long walk along the beach.
little or nothing (= almost nothing )
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He knew little or nothing about fixing cars.
meant nothing to (= I was not familiar with it )
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He said his name was ‘Randall’ but it meant nothing to me .
meant nothing (= it was not important )
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Time meant nothing to me while I was travelling.
nothing else mattered
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At last she was with the man she loved and nothing else mattered .
nothing fancy
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I just want a basic sports coat – nothing fancy .
nothing in common
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four women with almost nothing in common
nothing like enough
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This will be nothing like enough money.
nothing like (= not at all like )
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He looked nothing like the man in the police photograph.
nothing remotely resembling sth (= nothing at all like something or as good as something )
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Nothing remotely resembling a cure has been found.
nothing to be ashamed of
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Everyone cries sometimes – it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
nothing to get excited about (= not very good or special )
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The food was nothing to get excited about .
nothing unusual
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There is nothing unusual about the arrangement.
nothing/no one/nowhere in particular
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‘What did you want?’ ‘Oh, nothing in particular.’
not/nothing much
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‘What are you doing?’ ‘Oh, not much, really.’
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There’s nothing much we can do to help.
resemble nothing so much as sth (= look or seem rather like something )
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The building resembled nothing so much as giant beehive.
say something/anything/nothing
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I was about to say something to him when he looked up and smiled.
something/anything/nothing suspicious
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Call the police if you see anything suspicious.
something/nothing is wrong
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It was four whole days before anyone even noticed something was wrong.
something/nothing/anything happens
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Something terrible has happened.
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She carried on as if nothing had happened.
something/nothing/everything goes wrong
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If something goes wrong with your machine, you can take it back to the dealer.
sth is nothing short of a miracle (= it is extremely unexpected and you are very pleased about it )
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What has happened is nothing short of a miracle.
suspect something/nothing/anything
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He never suspected anything.
there is something/nothing sinister about sb/sth
▪
There was something sinister about Mr Scott’s death.
there is something/nothing wrong
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There’s something wrong with this yogurt.
there’s nothing to stop sb (from) doing sth
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There’s nothing to stop you applying for the job yourself.
there’s nothing worse than ...
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There’s nothing worse than lending something and not getting it back.
whispering sweet nothings
▪
a couple whispering sweet nothings to each other
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be nothing/little short of sth
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First, I would strongly advise other CEOs to follow our experience because the results stood to be nothing short of spectacular.
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It is little short of tragic that she has been cut off, while still at the peak of her singing power.
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The 18 tracks of the new record are so dizzyingly dexterous, the live show should be nothing short of amazing.
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The city hopes to attract around 3.5 million visitors annually, but last year's figures were little short of disastrous.
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The quality of sound via these outputs is nothing short of amazing.
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The result is nothing short of brilliant and has met with raves in all the glossy industry mags.
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This is nothing short of a scandal.
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What they envision is nothing short of a new corporate structure, in which accounting and other functions are outsourced.
be on a hiding to nothing
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But he was on a hiding to nothing really.
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Time was never called and the tide was soon to discover it was on a hiding to nothing.
have (got) nothing on sb/sth
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Another time she seemed to have nothing on under a grass skirt as she danced on a mirrored floor.
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He realized she must have nothing on.
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She seemed to have nothing on underneath, which made the wheel in my stomach behave in an entirely crazy fashion.
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When it comes to conniving, deceptive control freaks, ex-boyfriends have nothing on record companies.
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Where that girl is concerned I have nothing on my conscience.
have nothing to lose
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As the underdog here, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
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But you have nothing to lose - your life was being made a misery anyway.
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For a meeting or two, they have nothing to lose .
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If you are not sure whether you will be entitled to benefit, remember that you have nothing to lose by applying.
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The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains.
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You have nothing to lose but your monotony.
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You have nothing to lose by taking action in the small claims court.
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You have nothing to lose by trying out possible futures for size-it just requires an imaginative leap.
have nothing/not much/a lot etc going for sb/sth
is nothing sacred?
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Look at how those girls are dressed! Is nothing sacred anymore?
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Some countries operate five-year plans but there is nothing sacred about this length of time.
it's all or nothing
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The deal is all or nothing.
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It's all or nothing and being strong enough to take the flak if things go wrong.
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It's all or nothing with her.
leave little/nothing to the imagination
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His creation left nothing to the imagination .
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Plastics - that here leave little to the imagination - were widely used in fashion.
look/feel etc like nothing on earth
next to nothing
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I learned next to nothing at school - the teachers were awful.
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It costs next to nothing to go to an afternoon movie.
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My parents know next to nothing about the men I date.
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Phil earns next to nothing.
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The company's profits climbed from next to nothing to $6 million in just two years.
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A drive down Highway 880, past the Coliseum complex, reveals next to nothing new.
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For he was obliged now to concentrate on what he was doing, even if it was next to nothing.
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I know next to nothing about Belinda, but I must ask him how she died.
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It was nuts-and-bolts work, with a salary next to nothing, but he was prepared to bear the sacrifices.
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Its high rise flats are steeped in monotonous poverty: families survive on next to nothing, heroin is a hard currency.
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We know next to nothing about philosophy thanks to television, but lots about the nocturnal habits of cute animals.
no ... /nothing on earth
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But at the time, with my dad as he was, there might have been no such place on earth .
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Further, no nation on Earth presently has the ability to launch manned lunar missions.
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Gazza's goal convinced Maradona there is no greater player on earth than the irrepressible Geordie.
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No city on earth is quite like it.
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No nation on earth takes greater pride in its moral heritage than the United States.
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Obviously I couldn't mime to a voice of seventeen years ago, no way on earth !
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Oh no ... what on earth was there to cry for?
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There is no excitement on earth like it.
not want for sth/want for nothing
nothing better
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Analysts in Harare believe Mr Mugabe would like nothing better than the chance to declare a nationwide state of emergency.
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For sleeping there is nothing better than cotton.
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He had nothing better to do.
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I should have remembered: our new management likes nothing better than doing things on the cheap.
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Learn to tie it and you will realise there is nothing better .
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Rowland moves outside the establishment - in fact, he likes nothing better than upsetting it.
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The reporters, oddly enough, just happen to be sitting there in the line of fire with nothing better to do.
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With nothing better to do, Billy shuffled in their direction.
nothing could be further from the truth
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A lot of people think soufflés are hard to make. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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They say he is a spy, but nothing could be further from the truth.
nothing could be further from the truth
nothing could be/is further from sb's mind/thoughts
nothing daunted
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Naturally adventurous, she loved the life in Abyssinia, where nothing daunted her.
nothing less than sth
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The change in Bob's behavior has been nothing less than a miracle.
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He is aware that what he is involved in now is nothing less than Thatcherite self-help.
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It is nothing less than an opportunity to save or change the world.
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It is nothing less than national economic and social suicide.
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The result, and the acceptance of it, is nothing less than an outrage.
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There is nothing less than a cultural cover-up about depression in men.
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They had stumbled in upon what was quite clearly nothing less than a pagan sacrifice.
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This gave her hope, for it was nothing less than a re-birth that Maggie was aiming for.
nothing like
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All of these are useful, and collectively they offer nothing like enough.
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But she's nothing like her character in real-life.
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But the 1870s were not the 1370s, and amid rapid industrialization, apprenticeship was nothing like it once was.
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I have heard of three deaths during rugby matches in the seven years I have been secretary, but nothing like this.
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It was nothing like the life I wanted.
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Myddle parish saw nothing like the same rapid turnover of personnel.
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Straitlaced Amos, for example, was less stereotypical than his pals, and Sapphire spoke nothing like her husband.
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The zone blitz can fluster an offense because it looks nothing like a conventional blitz.
nothing of the sort
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But nothing of the sort happens.
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In practice, of course, he does nothing of the sort .
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It sounds unkind, but nothing of the sort was ever remotely true of Borg.
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Kiki was a Garbo fanatic and looked on herself as a femme fatale even though she was nothing of the sort .
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Maggie expected him to look annoyed but he did nothing of the sort .
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So far, Holly says, he has seen nothing of the sort .
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This is nothing of the sort .
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Uncle Allen remembered nothing of the sort .
nothing succeeds like success
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Initially nothing succeeds like success: but eventually success exceeds itself, and decline and despondency set in.
nothing to worry about
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It's just a simple check-up. There's nothing to worry about.
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You're a bright girl, and you've got nothing to worry about, as long as you finish all your assignments.
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As long as those trousers were still in circulation, I felt sure there was nothing to worry about.
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Bland reassurances came from the officials in charge of the spraying, who said there was nothing to worry about.
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But Mel still insisted they had nothing to worry about.
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I can reassure you that your sexy dreams are nothing to worry about.
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Nine times out of ten, using this tactic, you discover that there's nothing to worry about.
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There was nothing to worry about: if there had been, the fuzz would have come in with a warrant.
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You can then realistically reassure yourself that you have nothing to worry about.
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You have nothing to worry about.
nothing to write home about
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Jim and Marcia's new house is nothing to write home about.
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A few long-range efforts, but nothing to write home about.
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Three, it is nothing to write home about ... Home ... What's the first thing you remember?
nothing ventured, nothing gained
nothing/anything of the kind
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But nothing of the kind has happened.
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Even apparent moves by the regime to resolve the crisis turn out on closer inspection to be nothing of the kind .
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However, we have done nothing of the kind !
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In reality, of course, Pooley had done nothing of the kind .
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It's possible that I might have, but I can assure you I did nothing of the kind .
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It does nothing of the kind .
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Of course, nothing of the kind turns up.
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She had denied anything of the kind to the police but it was real enough.
nothing/no one can touch sb/sth
sth has much/little/nothing to recommend it
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The hotel has little except price to recommend it.
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An alternative approach-optical fibre - has much to recommend it.
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As such, it has much to recommend it.
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But in terms of an effective solution the voting method has little to recommend it.
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In principle this format has much to recommend it, but in this case the practice has not been successful.
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It is plain that, in the long run, the gentle art of compromise has much to recommend it.
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Nevertheless, the principle of chisel ploughing has much to recommend it in the right conditions.
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Such a way of proceeding has much to recommend it, but scant progress has been made in that direction.
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This cooperative family decision-making has much to recommend it.
stick at nothing
sweet nothings
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He whispered sweet nothings in her ear while they danced.
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How musical the river and how charming the trees whispering sweet nothings as we pass!
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Ned appeared to be whispering sweet nothings in her ear but his attentions were being met with a stony silence!
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The bed was comfortable and so large you had to shout sweet nothings.
there is little/nothing to choose between sth
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Both make-ups can be available at the same time and, so far as value goes, there is nothing to choose between them.
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But there is little to choose between the two in terms of overall performance.
there's nothing like
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There's nothing like Mom's chicken soup.
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And there's nothing like a conversation when you smoke.
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Facing page: there's nothing like a brew to soothe aching limbs but where's the Kendal Mint cake?
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No, there's nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better about yourself.
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Second team or not, however, there's nothing like the first century.
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When the weather's good there's nothing like a luxurious dessert to give a special menu a final flourish.
think nothing of doing sth
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He'd think nothing of checking up on a fellow's credentials.
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He thought nothing of playing in ten or eleven consecutive events.
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He would think nothing of walking up and hugging you.
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I thought nothing of it, just that whoever closed the house up had overlooked it.
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She just found it hard to be owned by customers; men especially thought nothing of appraising her through her clothes.
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The Human Piranha, a Harvard graduate, thought nothing of it.
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They have been in the middle of war and think nothing of hearing shooting all round them.
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When she was young enough to travel alone and think nothing of it.
think nothing of sth
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He'd think nothing of checking up on a fellow's credentials.
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He thought nothing of playing in ten or eleven consecutive events.
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He would think nothing of walking up and hugging you.
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I thought nothing of it, just that whoever closed the house up had overlooked it.
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She just found it hard to be owned by customers; men especially thought nothing of appraising her through her clothes.
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The Human Piranha, a Harvard graduate, thought nothing of it.
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They have been in the middle of war and think nothing of hearing shooting all round them.
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When she was young enough to travel alone and think nothing of it.
to say nothing of sth
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A bounced check will cost you $25 or more, to say nothing of your credit rating.
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Getting in would be hazardous; to say nothing of getting out, but it was his only chance.
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He asks her to say nothing of what occurred, agreeing that it must have been Grace Poole whom she heard.
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He brought to the job a number of attractive qualities, to say nothing of an imposing physical presence.
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It is not easy, to say nothing of being undignified, to strip off a jumper in front of an audience!
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It would clearly be far too expensive to repeat every investigation carried out by the police, to say nothing of delays.
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Long-term strategy, and the opportunities of broadcasting, to say nothing of priorities, politics and ethics.
what's the matter?/something's the matter/nothing's the matter etc
will/would stop at nothing (to do sth)
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Clearly, Franco would stop at nothing to retain his hegemonic position.
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Detectives are hunting three masked raiders who they believe will stop at nothing.
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Luke Calder was a coolly calculating, ruthless man who would stop at nothing to get where or what he wanted.
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Robert Sheldrake is an unscrupulous man who will stop at nothing to get this practice.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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"What did you say?" "Oh, nothing ."
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Nothing ever happens around here.
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I have nothing to wear to the wedding.
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I never said nothing about taking you swimming.
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It's nothing , just a scratch.
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No, there's nothing wrong, I'm all right.
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The kids were complaining there was nothing to do.
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There's nothing in this box.